Review: Pretentious plot burns out 'Ashes'

Nov. 13, 2008

Written by

FILM FACTS

MPAA RATING: R for some violence

LENGTH: 93 minutes

WHERE PLAYING: Century Riverside

DIRECTOR: Wong Kar-wai

CRITICAL RATING: J out of JJJJ

More

ADVERTISEMENT

There are many sorts of bad movies but the pretentious ones are the worst. Take "Ashes of Time Redux." If it were merely a bad martial arts drama, we could enjoy the fight sequences as we laughed at the overblown plot points.

But "Ashes of Time" is so convinced of its own importance that the fight scenes are minimal, leaving viewers to slog through long-winded narratives packed with mediocre philosophy.

The story, such as it is, is set in ancient China and ties itself to the passing of seasons, the one constant being a businessman named Ouyang Feng (Leslie Cheung) who lives as a hermit and makes his living booking assassins for hire. During the film, he tells the story of several of his hired killers while also revealing details of his own tortured past.

Some stories are interesting, but the setups are painfully long and the general structure of the picture is so disjointed that it's difficult to follow. That is, of course, assuming anyone would want to follow the picture after

its dreadfully slow beginning.

The irony here is that "Ashes" originally was released in 1994 and this picture is merely a re-edited version. The original film received mixed reviews, many complaining about its structure, so there was an opportunity for writer-director Wong Kar-wai to improve the flow. Alas, this version of "Ashes" still is maddeningly fractured, playing more like a fever dream than a motion picture.

Most frustrating is the fact that Wong Kar-wai presents his material with such seriousness. Apparently, viewers are supposed to listen to the film's long, rambling monologues and come out of the theater enriched. Trouble is, nothing said is especially enlightening. Some of the disconnect may come from the English subtitles, which are always a poor substitute for original Mandarin, but for most U.S. viewers, the subtitles are a must.

Thankfully, "Ashes of Time" earns some redemption through the gorgeous cinematography of Christopher Doyle. Even when the storytelling wanders and the movie lags, the visuals are fantastic. That alone doesn't make up for the film's shortfalls, but it does soften the blow.